﻿Wellington Philosophical Society. 371 



distinguislied from those of Manilla or Sisal," by Captain F, W. Hutton, 

 F.G.S. (See "Report of Flax Commissioners, 1870-1," p. 90. 



(abstract.) 

 This paper described a method of isolating the ultimate fibres by boiling in 

 a solution of potash, and a table of their measurements was given, from which 

 it appears that the average length of the ultimate fibre of Phormium is nearly 

 twice that of either Manilla or Sisal, while the average diameter is not much 

 more than half that of Manilla, which, again, is much less than Sisal. The 

 cell wall of Phormium is also much thinner than either of the others. 



Fifth Meeting. \'oth September, 1871. 

 W. T. L. Travers, F.L.S., President, in the chair. 



New member. — H. Blundell (Crown Lands Office). 



1. " Notes upon the Historical Value of the ' Traditions of the New 

 Zealanders,' as collected by Sir G. Grey, K.C.B., late Governor-in-Chief of 

 New Zealand," by W. T. L. Travers, F.L.S. (See Transactions, p. 51.) 



Mr. J. T. Thomson said that the paper that he had read on the same 

 subject some eight months ago before the Otago Institute (see T7'ansactions, 

 p. 23) could not have been known to Mr. Travers, as it was not yet pub- 

 lished. He said that he had been much struck with the resemblance between 

 the songs of the Maoris and those of the Oranglauts, a tribe being in the 

 Indian Archipelago, but spread far and wide ; their languages also are much 

 akin to one another, but that of the Oranglauts is more Malayan than that of 

 the Maoris. 



Captain Hutton said that, of the birds mentioned by Mr. Travers as sup- 

 posed to have been brought here by the Maoris, the green parakeet (Platycercus 

 novae zelandice) had a wide range, though not found actually in the islands 

 whence the Maoris are supposed to have come. A very similar species, however, 

 P. pacificus, is found in those islands, and it is probable that our bird would 

 have been at once recognised by the Maoris as similar to one in the islands 

 they had left, and thus, perhaps, it came to be supposed that they had 

 brought it. 



Dr. Hector drew attention to the fact that the Maoris have distinct names 

 for all natural objects, and that the same names are used throughout all parts 

 of the Islands. He knew of no savage race that equalled them in this respect, 

 and thoiight this practice was adverse to the idea taught by their traditions, 

 viz., that the Maoris, as we now find them, had spread slowly by natural increase 

 from a few canoe loads of original settlers. It is far more probable that, after 



